When Florence shows interest in alchemist’s fire, Benedictus looks up to her, still crouching down on the skeleton, and offers the girl the second alchemical weapon. “Here, take this one too.” With a smile, Ben stand up. “In the future, I’d be happy to craft alchemical weapons for you, Florence. That is, if we manage to get out alive of this place.” When he looks at Florence, Ben’s smile is always filled with joy, as though the very presence of the girl made him feel happy.
Once the door is opened, Benedictus stares at the carvings on the walls. “Isn’t it amazing?” he says with dreaming eyes to the others as he pulls out his journal from his pocket and starts to draw a quick sketch of the bas-relief carving. “First-hand material. Very, very good!”
“I agree with Zilchus. Come on, Florence, Nidhi, let’s move out of the hallway before Augustus opens the door. If only one of us falls, we could heal him. If we all fall…well, I suppose I don’t need to argue in favor of the advantages of Zilchus’ point. Let’s go.”
__________________________________
The party leaves the hallway, wary of possible traps, leaving Augustus behind.
No traps trigger with all the movement.
- - -
"Very well! Everyone brace yourselves! I'm opening the door!" Augustus steps up to the stone doors and takes a deep breath closing his eyes to gather himself.
It'll be okay Augustus, a silly door can't take you down! You're way too great for that. Right? I mean... the other trap didn't work....
Augustus opens his eyes, grabs the stone handles and pulls bracing himself for whatever might happen.
Augustus moves up toward the door, and gets ~10' from it when everyone hears an audible click from his footfall. There's a second's delay before holes in the design open up and darts shoot out into the hallway attacking everyone in the long passage.
Luckily, that's only Augustus for now...
After the darts fire, there is another audible click, and you think the trap reset itself...
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Zilchus looks very confused.
"That's not what I expected to happen at all. That's...what? That just happened? I thought for sure that some chariot was going to drop on Augustus then roll over everything...hmmff," Zilchus scratches his chin.
"Well, that wasn't right at all. Anyhoot, can anyone see about disarming that?"
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Augustus grunts in pain as the darts shoot into the hallway, one of them hitting a weak spot in his scale mail causing him to bleed a bit. Pulling the dart out he tosses it aside angrily and shouts at the doors in front of him.
"Is that all you've got? The mighty Augustus Voralius wont be taken down by a few darts in a hallway!" Augustus winces in pain as his shouting causes the wound to stretch a bit.
"So you guys.... what do we do now?" Augustus doesnt move from his current position, not wanting to trigger the darts again. "Can any of you do anything about these darts?"
While waiting for an answer he raises his shield and tries placing it in a way to deflect any more darts that get triggered.
”Wow Zilchus, you have a knack for sensing traps!" Nidhi praises Zilchus.
"Well, that wasn't right at all. Anyhoot, can anyone see about disarming that?"
"Oh...and, um...I don't really know anything about disarming traps," she adds. "Maybe Nidhi or Ben do, though?"
"So you guys.... what do we do now?" Augustus doesnt move from his current position, not wanting to trigger the darts again. "Can any of you do anything about these darts?"
Nidhi steps toward the doorframe leading into the long hall ”My time to shine! Nidhi smiles and tilts her head, placing both hands on her hips, “Let me try to disarm that trap! I can’t let Augustus hog all the glory.” Nidhi says her last sentence in a teasing voice.
Nidhi tentatively steps through the door into the 1st 5-foot square and waits a moment. If nothing happens, Nidhi moves another 5-foot square into the room and waits for a moment.
If the arrow shoot again, Nidhi backs up. "Uh oh."
If nothing happens, Nidhi keeps moving towards Augustus with her Everburning Torch and stops a little over 10 ft away from the door. Nidhi crouches down, bringing her light closer to the floor. ”So what did you do? Touch anything? Step somewhere?”
If Nidhi doesn't see a trap in the area, can she take 10 minutes?
"I stepped on this tile here," Augustus points to the last place he stepped before the trap went off. "Then darts happened."
Augustus looks Nidhi up and down, "So... you've done this before? You don't look like the type who'd know how to disarm a trap."
Nidhi approaches cautiously but still does not see that trap. Luckily, there's no penalty for failure, so she can try, try again.
Nidhi takes her time and stares at the floor. In a few moments, she makes out the cracks which outline the edge of the sinking stones.
She borrows a piton from someone, and wedges it into place, preventing the stone from sinking further under the weight of the group. She thinks the trap is disarmed. But there's only one way to be sure...
Nidhi stands up after messing with the trap by wedging in a piton.
"Ok, that should do it." Nidhi nods at the floor. "Augustus, on the count of 3 let's both move forward 1 square. Nidhi waits for Augustus to comply.
If Augustus doesn't offer a better solution:
"1... 2... 3!" Nidhi moves forward one square (assuming Augustus moves forward 1 square as well.)
"Hold on! You really want to risk getting hit by one of those darts? I'm in armor and look what they did to me? You should let me test it out alone again." He looks at the girl, surprised at her bravery.
If she refuses to go back to the others he will move forward with her anyway. If darts shoot out of the walls he will do his best to protect her instead of himself.
Keeping his party members safe is more beneficial than keeping himself safe at the moment.
The pair leap forward, slamming on the stone trigger. It shifts, but only to wedge firmly in place.
The trap is disarmed.
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"Did it work, Nidhi? All safe now? That is good, good!" Zilchus comes forward, re-attaching his weapon cord to his wrist and rests his left hand upon his falchion's hilt.
"Wait, a chariot? How would you hide something like that for a trap? Is that something you've actually seen before?"
Zilchus shrugs, and then tries to explain himself.
"Look at the fresco. A chariot. A massive chariot in the middle of many battles. See that?" Zilchus points out his reasoning. "Does that look like the kind of guy who would use darts? DARTS!? No. He would drop a piddlespotting chariot on you. And that's what I expected."
Zilchus moves forward with the rest.
Nidhi laughs, jumping and clapping her hands. "We did it!" She turns around and calls down the hall, "It's safe! Come on!"
After alerting the rest of the team, Nidhi turns back towards the next set of doors and eyes them suspiciously, "Are you a trap too?" Nidhi accuses the non-sentient entrance.
If Nidhi doesn't perceive any threats she encourages someone in the party to open the door. "Maybe one of you guys should open these doors. I opened the last set." Nidhi will relay any information she receives from her Perception check.
"Ahh, and Augustus, I know a small mending spell for your armor. Let me help repair any minor damage to your scale mail " Nidhi casts Mending on Augustus' armor, repairing any minor damage to his scale mail.
"I would offer to heal you but I'm not that good at it. I can only heal about once a day," Nidhi admits sheepishly. "Speaking of abilities... Augustus, what do you mean I don't look like the type who'd know how to disable traps?" Nidhi places a hand on her hip because her other hand is holding her Everburning Torch. She isn't annoyed but rather interested in his reasoning.
"My father was the one to teach me actually. We got into a few silly shenanagins when I was small." Nidhi laughs, shaking her head as if reminiscing. "Do you have fond memories of your father? Does he have many heroic tales?" Nidhi stands up a little straighter. "Are you trying to follow in his footsteps?"
Nidhi approaches the doors and, other than admiring the carving, finds nothing on them.
"Well look at that!" Augustus grins and pumps his fist into the air before sweeping his long hair out of his eyes. "I'm glad it just darts though, that could have killed someone. "
Thanks for fixing my armor... You're pretty useful aren't you? After all of this is over maybe you can come on one of my grand adventures! You'll might even get mentioned in one my stories!" Augustus talks excitedly to Nidhi as the others catch up.
He puts his hand on her shoulder before continuing, "The typical people I've dealt with that had skills to disarm traps and open locks don't usually look like pretty young girls. Think black leather armor and masks.
Turning to the doors at the end of the hallway he volunteers, "Shall I open the doors? I prefer to lead if that's not an issue?
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I knew something like that could happen. Fortunately Augustus managed to survive.
Ben steps closer to the brave Augustus and pats him on the shoulder. "You've been very brave, my friend. Thank you for taking this for us."
As soon as Florence approaches him, asking for the healing wand, Ben gives it to her, and once the girl is done healing Augustus, the scholar steps closer to her. "Florence, I believe you should keep the wand. Or someone else. I wouldn't be able to use it in case of emergency, so I'm not the one who should be carrying it."
Approaching Zilchus after the shock is passed, Ben scratches his chin. "Your hunch was correct. My praises. I can see why you were thinking about a chariot...anyway, your caution saved our lives, to I must thank you as well."
Ben takes a deep breath and tries to relaxes while the others discuss about how to open the door.
"Alright, everyone! Let's step out of the hallway again before Augustus opens the door. If something betrays you once, there's no reason why it shouldn't do so twice. I think it'd be wise to get out of the hallway as our brave friend opens the door, so that we can help him should something bad occur again". With that said, Ben leaves the hallway and waits for Augustus to open the door.
If Florence reaches him out of the hallway, Ben leans slightly towards her. "I didn't know you were able to craft alchemical weapons! It's nice to see someone who can do it too! Perhaps we can work together in order to create something particuarly difficult to craft or something new!"
Then, whispering in her ear. "Anyway, of course I'm curious!"
"Hunches. That's what I have. You're welcome to all my hunches as long as they seem right. Sometimes," Zilchus says. "Sometimes, I don't even know where they come from."
"Look, I saw the rope cut, not broken...and the guy at the bottom. You have to realize. And here? This was another warning...there was something *here*. Remember, it's almost as if they don't want us to be here doing this."
Zilchus waits for the door to be opened.
Augustus lets Florence touch him with the want instantly feeling his wound close up and the pain disappear as she does.
Magic, right? Hmph.
"I feel much better now Florence! Thank you for worrying about me. Now on to this door!" Augustus walks up to the door, waiting for anyone who wants to leave the hallway to do so.
"Alright, here I go!" He grabs the handle and pulls on the doors bracing himself for what might happen.
The party hangs back as the proud Augustus pulls open the doors. I'll assume Benedictus continues to recast dancing lights and places them around Augustus under these circumstances. No traps spring as the heavy doors swing wide.
Augustus sees a faded tapestry hanging on a wooden frame on the western wall of this chamber. Faded and delicate, the tapestry depicts a middle-aged man, accompanied by a woman and two children, with a small estate in the background along with some faded heiroglyphics.
To either side of the tapestry are two small pedestals, upon which sit two dead and preserved animals - cats in fact. Stone double doors exit the chamber to the north and south (you're coming from the east).
Nidhi strains to listen to hear if Augustus is okay after opening the next set of doors.
”Do you hear anything?” Nidhi whispers to the others. She looks at them for direction. ”Should we move to him? Nidhi waits on Florence, Benedictus, and Zilchus before moving to where Augustus is.
Perception
If nothing seems dangerously awry, Zilchus moves into the room to get a better look at the tapestry.
"Say Professor, you'll let us know when we find something worthwhile to bring back, right? Or maybe we can tag things as we go in, so we know what we need to get out when we leave?" Zilchus asks a procedural question.
"Do you think this tapestry is worthwhile?" Zilchus asks, having no understanding of such things. "What do stuffy old college coots and collectors want, anyway?"
Benedictus scratches his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm, of course I'll let you know, Zilchus. Our primary goal is to find something valuable and bring it back to Wati, isn't it? Anyway, there are different meanings of "valuable", on the basis of which perspective you're looking from." Gesturing to the tapestries, Ben ensues. "Exempli gratia, these are definitely worth taking, from an archaeological and historical point of view, although they may not fetch a high price on the market."
With that said, Benedictus gets near to the tapestries and tries to decipher their sense, along with the meaning of the faded heiroglyphics. If he thinks the tapestries are worthwhile, the scholar will advise the party to remove them from the walls and put them into a sack or any other container the group may have, in order to come back and fetch them later.
After the tapestries have been addressed, Ben looks around himself. "So, we've got two doors and no clue about which one we should open first. Most likely, danger awaits beyond both, so we mights as well start from the one on the...north?"
________________________
Benedictus examines the tapestry and is pretty sure that moving it may result in its destruction. It's old and frail, though at one time it may have been very beautiful.
Studying the tapestry reveals several symbols and hieroglyphs that suggest that Akhentepi’s family befell some tragedy, possibly murder or sickness, and he was left widowed. Benedictus can infer that the family is probably interred somewhere else and that this tomb was prepared much later, after Akhentepi’s continued successful military career.
The north and south doors look like the last - easily opened with a little brute force.
"What about these, Professor?" Zilchus asks, indicating the cats. "Any market for pet remains?"
When others are ready (and after giving the north doors a good look), Zilchus will open up the north doors.
Perception
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"What about these, Professor?" Zilchus asks, indicating the cats. "Any market for pet remains?"
"You want to remove Akhentepi's beloved pets from their master and family?" Nidhi scowls, "That's pretty heartless Zilchus." Nidhi glaces around the room to see if anyone will back her up.
Nidhi gestures to Bynx. "Would you grave rob Florence of her family if she was resting dead in a tomb? I vote we leave any bodies we find here." Nidhi stops talking and just crosses her arms staring at Zilchus. She thinks she’s said everything that needs to be said.--------
After a while Nidhi adds: ”But I’m not opposed to taking the tapestry if someone can restore it to prolong Akhentepi's legacy. I think Akhentepi would be amiable to that - but we should get it as we're leaving. We might accidentally damage it walking around here.”
Zilchus shoots back a glance at the cold woman.
"You mean to tell me that you want to scrub Akhentepi's pets from his family's legacy? Should we not honor the pets as much as their guardian? Why is it okay with you that we take from Akhentepi his possessions and his history but make no note of those he chose to have interred with him: his pets?"
Zilchus casts a pair of sad eyes at Bynx, then at Florence.
"Florence, Binx: I hope you know that I would never try to erase one of your stories from the other: you have both chosen to tie your stories together. lf I ever tell your stories, I will gladly tell of both, because the connection between pet and guardian is among the strongest and most pure I know."
"If we're here to learn about our ancient lines, I think it is fair to tell that their beloved pets were part of their story...but, if what Nidhi suggests is true, I might be wrong in that assertion. Tell me now."
”This tomb is Akhentepi’s final resting place. Removing his pets would be like removing a part of his soul. I’m against putting his corpse on display like some circus animal. The same goes for his pets. It's disrespectful. You all can remove his pets from their eternal slumber but don’t expect me to help or Pharasma to act favorably towards you.” Nidhi says a quick prayer to Pharasma before turning back to Zilchus.
Nidhi, narrows her eyes tilting her head slightly, ”And the tapestry is different - it's a work of art. Displaying art is completely different from displaying a dead body. Plus, if we wanted the dead to live with us, we wouldn’t have given them their own space here in the Necropolis. There are many ways to respect the dead without their corpse.” Nidhi looks at the others, hoping for an opinion other than Zilchus'.
Benedictus finds himself irresistibly drawn to chime in the conversation between Nidhi and Zilchus. "You have a good point, Nidhi", the scholar says nodding to the Osirian girl, "But I think the premises of your argument are not proved." The former professor shrugs, opens his journal and quickly scribbles something on it. "Major premise: These mummified cats are Akhentepi's pets. Minor premise: removing one's pets from his tomb is disrespectful. Conclusion: we should not remove the cats." Ben scratches his chin thoughtfully, then shakes his head.
"The major premise, as you can see, is not proved. We do not have any evidence that these mummified cats are Akhentepi's pets, and not some sort of decoration with no sentimental bond with he who rests in this place. So the whole argument is not sound."
Realizing that cold logic could not be enough in this situation, the scholar shrugs and walks up to Nidhi. Looking in her eyes, Benedictus smiles. "But I suppose we can let go of logics in this case. Since the mummified cats shouldn't be especially valuable anyway, I think we should let them where they are. This way, if Nidhi is right, we're also respecting the dead. Otherwise we're just leaving something behind."
Satisfacted with his explanation, Benedictus turns to Augustus. "Augustus, we need to open these doors..."
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Lovely discussion! A few, maybe helpful, points...
- The cats, while unknown, are likely Akhentepi's pets, though how fond of them he was is uncertain. That they're here, and not in his personal chamber, suggests they were either faithful guardians (good mousers), or less loved.
- You may come and go as often as you'd like during the week. So while time is short, you can draw the cats and have them appraised to determine their value, and/or do a little research. Of course your drawing skills might not pass muster, and the party currently does not think the cats have much cash value - though they are well preserved, so perhaps a collector?
- The church of Pharasma would be very pleased at your discussion, however it turns out. It shows you're all respecting the dead and the tomb. Exactly what they'd hoped.
Also, Zilchus suggested he'd open the northern doors. As they lead to a short flight of steps down, and another set of like doors, I've gone ahead and done so.
Please remember to move yourselves on the map. Currently only Zilchus and Benedictus are in the room examining the cats, though from your role play it seems you're all there. I'm fine moving you up now and again, but then you're stuck with where I put you - no complaints. You might trigger traps, be in a bad spot for combats, etc. I make no promises to put you in a good location, though I will put you where it seems to make sense at the time. :)
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Zilchus snorts and smiles and grunts at the points that the Professor makes, then Florence. It's a good discussion and much of Zilchus' thought process involves such noises that stimulate the mind.
”This tomb is Akhentepi’s final resting place. Removing his pets would be like removing a part of his soul. You all can remove his pets from their eternal slumber but don’t expect me to help or Pharasma to act favorably towards you.”
"Are you saying that Pharasma personally walks the souls of every pet with their owner to the final graveyard? I'm not really super excited that this Akhentepi had his cats killed when he died, then stuffed, then buried in here with him? Did they get a choice in that?"
"Maybe we should ask the Pharasmans about why they think it's okay to kill pets like that?" Zilchus continues his scorn of the Pharasmans while he reaches down to scritch Bynx.
I'm standing up for you, buddy.
* * *
Zilchus moves to the next set of steps/doors and looks around, waiting before opening.
Perception
"Ah, if the cats are valuable shouldn't we take them? I thought that's why we were here? I mean if Maximus and I were buried in a tomb and someone took his body out to sell it or whatever I don't think it would be that bad." Augustus looks upward thinking of the horse who cant join them below.
He then join Zilchus near the stairway and new set of doors.
"Are you saying that Pharasma personally walks the souls of every pet with their owner to the final graveyard? I'm not really super excited that this Akhentepi had his cats killed when he died, then stuffed, then buried in here with him? Did they get a choice in that?"
”Pharasma has already drawn out all of our destinies. They are predetermined. Pharasma decided at their creation that the cats were to be Akhentepi’s companions in life and in death. You may believe differently – that your fate is somehow your own – but I’m a firm believer that it’s Pharasma’s path that guides us.”
--------
Nidhi sighs. She wasn’t fond of arguing. ”Do what you think it right with the pets but if you remove them you might as well remove Akhentepi himself. Better together than apart.” Nidhi continues to stand in the same spot with one hand on her hip and the other holding her Everburning Torch. Nidhi looks at Zilchus and Augustus who are standing by the next set of doors, waiting for them to proceed.
Nidhi doesn't want to be the first to enter but she will search for traps if requested.
Benedictus listens to everyone's points with a smile on his face. It's so good to know that everyone has his own, unique opinion. I'm not adventuring with a band of fools, not at all!
Trying to mediate the conflict of opinion, Ben takes the floor once again. "Listen, we all have our points, so we should come to an agreement. My proposal is that we take one of the cats and respectfully bring it back to Wati so that someone can appraise its value for us. If they're worth removing, I think we should do so. We were told to act respectfully, and we're doing so, but I don't see why we can also fulfill our primary goal, which consists in digging up precious things from the past, if we're not even ready to take an embalmed cat with us for appraisal. Anyway, I'm not so concerned about these cats, since if I trust my instinct, they won't have any value at all, except for a collector of such things."
---
When Zilchus opens the door, revealing a starway followed by yet another set of doors, Ben snorts nervously. "Come on! Whoever built this place clearly was not aware of the principle of economy. Frustra fit per plura quod potest fieri per pauciora!", the scholar declaims citing an archaic formulation of the principle of economy. Then he shrugs. "Let's open these doors then, I'm just behind you my esteemed peers!"
The party advances down the short flight and opens the next doors, seeing no traps upon them with a light search.
A brightly painted incredibly crafted chariot dominates the center of this chamber. Beyond the chariot, a large canvas stretches between two stone columns. The skins of several animals - antelopes, great cats, and even crocodiles - now faded and deteriorated with age, are tacked to this canvas. A wooden chest, lacquered white and trimmed with brilliant gold inlay, sits in the southeast corner. The chest is beautiful, and if undamaged, is worth 200 gp as an art piece.
In each corner of the room a small stone shield is molded into the masonry at shoulder height. An open hallway leads to the east, dim in your light.
As, eventually, you walk into the chamber, the hallway is more visible to you. Four funerary masks hang on one wall of this short hallway, staring down as if in judgment at anyone standing in the corridor*. Each mask is plated in gold and worth 75gp.
Beyond that (peeking ahead) is another large chamber with a table displaying a three-dimensional diorama occupying much of the north side. Three shields with different designs are displayed upon a rack against the east wall, while various weapons hang from another rack along the south wall. Arrayed around the room are five small chests and a clay urn.
Nidhi sighs. She wasn’t fond of arguing. ”Pharasma has already drawn out all of our destinies. They are predetermined. Pharasma decided at their creation that the cats were to be Akhentepi’s companions in life and in death. You may believe differently – that your fate is somehow your own – but I’m a firm believer that it’s Pharasma’s path that guides us.”
Zilchus smiles his not-so-good smile. He's fond of discussions.
"Yes, so...you think Pharasma attached those cats to Akhentepi...and when the master died, it was okay to kill the pets? And they, nor he, had any say in the matter? That is strange. To give up one's free will and choices to a god, before one can do things on their own," Zilchus questions, trying to understand.
"I can understand killing animals for sport. Or for food. But to have your pets killed because you think Pharasma has linked your deaths together...that's...that's just wrong. No wonder the Ruby Prince is unhappy with the Pharasmans here, if that is how they think."
* * *
Zilchus steps forward after opening the doors, touching nothing but the floors.
Perception (traps/trouble)
"What do those masks symbolize?" Zilchus asks looking around. "Anyone?"
After a few moments of waiting, Zilchus will move further forward.
She does glance over at Nidhi with some concern and falls back beside her as the others move ahead to open the northern set of doors. "Sorry...for what it's worth, I'm glad you said something even if it didn't go the way you would've liked," she whispers softly. "Maybe that's why Abdur wanted you along...to help keep the rest of us straight," she smiles.
Nidhi shakes her head and smiles, touched by Florence’s words. “What will be, will be,” Nidhi replies.
--------
"Yes, so...you think Pharasma attached those cats to Akhentepi...and when the master died, it was okay to kill the pets? And they, nor he, had any say in the matter? That is strange. To give up one's free will and choices to a god, before one can do things on their own," Zilchus questions, trying to understand.
Nidhii eyes widen slightly and she turns to stare agape at Zilchus: ”What!? Are you trying to imply that those cats were… murdered? No, no, no Zilchus. Since they are near the entrance and not in the same room at Akhentepi, they absolutely could not have been murdered. They may have died from a variety of causes: heartbreak after Akhentepi died, natural causes prior to Akhentepi’s death, or perhaps they lived a long life surpassing Akhentepi as talented mousers for his successors.” Nidhi nods fervently as she discusses possible scenarios. "And Pharasma's fate is more complicated than that. Your fate ends with you. Not with someone else's fate. Everyone has their own line of destiny, although sometimes destinies intertwine."
Nidhi’s mind begins to race. There were too many scenarios and variables to consider. ”And who’s to say Akhentepi didn’t outlive his feline friends? Or perhaps his wife and children took care of the cats. They could have been added before or later to the tomb. Not necessarily when Akhentepi died.”
Nidhi steps towards the masks on the wall as an excuse to change the subject. Nidhi normally didn’t have any problem discussing death, but talking about murder was awfully morbid – especially in a cramped tomb. To Nidhi, talking about death in a tomb was too real. She tenses a little and looks around, half-expecting a mummy to suddenly pop out.
Nidhi recognizes one of the masks as Pharasma: "Ahh, how wonderous! This needs to be shown to the Church of Pharasma. Adbur will probably agree." Nidhi looks at the other mask she recognizes, “And this one is of Abadar!” Nidhi points at the second mask. She looks at the masks but doesn't attempt to remove them.
Nidhi recognizes one of the masks as Pharasma: "Ahh, how wonderous! This needs to be shown to the Church of Pharasma. Adbur will probably agree." Nidhi looks at the other mask she recognizes, “And this one is of Abadar!” Nidhi points at the second mask. She looks at the masks but doesn't attempt to remove them.
Augustus enters the room following Zilchus his hand on the pommel of his sword. He hears Nidhi mention Abadar as they look at the masks and he walks towards it. "My parents worshiped Abadar in secret. They taught me to worship him as well."
Augustus kneels before the mask and says a small prayer to himself before rising.
"Florence is right, as far as history or and sort of practices your people have I'm clueless."
He walks around the room and eventually his eyes fall on the large chest in the corner. "That looks valuable!"
Zilchus smiles at the rise that comes out of Nidhi and the comments from Florence.
"You tell me, Nidhi. I just see cats entombed in a sealed crypt, beset by traps and all sorts of warnings. Do you think anyone would brave those traps just to bring a few cats in? No, all these cats were killed when their master died, likely," Zilchus surmises. "They *could* have died at any time, but also, they were put in this tomb. In the end, we won't know if they have any historical or research value until we ask, like the Professor pointed out."
"I don't know much about burial rituals in this context. What happened long ago and what happens today are very different...let alone people of station like the General as opposed to people like my family."
“Predestination is a delicate subject, especially since Aroden died and we entered the Age of Lost Omens. I suggest that all of us take a deep breath and relax. To divine the divine ends is impossible. Our mortal and finite minds cannot understand the unfathomable will of a God, otherwise we would be deities ourselves. Divine rationality exceeds every possible mortal understanding a priori, on account of its very definition. All we can do is to interpret the will of the gods, but when we do, we must always remember that our judgments are only interpretations, and as such fallible”. Benedictus speak with solemnity, but as soon as he realizes that his abstract way of speaking could create some misunderstandings, he quickly reverts to a more common language. “What I’m trying to say, Nidhi, is that we cannot really know Pharasma’s will. And this is precisely the reason because you’re wrong when you say the Lady of Graves predestined the cats to accompany Akhentepi both in life and in death. Exempli gratia, if we now take the cats away, something which we would be able to do, if we want to, you’d be forced to say that Pharasma’s predestination has been ineffective and that the acts of mortal creatures were enough to ruin the plans of a deity. That would make Pharasma herself fallible, something that is not compatible with her godhood. As such, please try and stay rational, everyone. We cannot know what the will of Pharasma is, without great feats of divine magic at least. Let’s leave these cats here for the moment, we’ll think about them later. Agreed?”
---
Content with his speech, Benedictus follows his allies into the next room. Here, he stands mouth agape at the incredible chariot, and looks at the ornate chest with curiosity. “Is there anyone here who can open it without triggering any trap that could have been possibly placed on it?”
---
When the chest has been dealt with, Ben follows his companions in the next room again, stopping just behind Augustus. “See those masks in the hallway?” he says with a voice full of wonder, “The first two depict Pharasma and Abadar, while the other two represent Sekhmet and Osiris. They are wonderful…”
Benedictus takes a deep breath and delights in the contemplation of the masks. “Although I’d like to leave them here, I think we should take them. Since each mask is plated in gold, they're likely to fetch a good price on the market. But please, beware of traps.”
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Zilchus and Florence see nothing additional in the room during their searches, but both can confirm that the animal pelts have little value now considering their decay. Florence, in examining the chariot, is certain it’s been used in battle, and equally certain that parts must have been removed to get it down here. If it could be removed, and a little refurbished, it might fetch as much as 200gp to a collector.
Some of you can now see more clearly into the next room, though you’ve not yet entered… With a sculpted landscape and tiny stone and wooden statues, the diorama depicts an ancient battle between the city of Wati and an unidentified enemy. The rack to the east proudly displays three shields. The shield on the right is a light wooden shield identical to the shields carried by the soldiers in the diorama. It bears Ancient Osiriani hieroglyphs that spell the name “Akhentepi,” marking those soldiers as under the command of Akhentepi. The light wooden shield on the left does not appear to be Osirian in origin.
The center shield is unusual in that it is a light steel shield shaped like a scarab; it matches the one borne by Akhentepi in the engravings on the doors near the entrance. The rack on the south wall holds a composite shortbow, a khopesh, and a spear - all of which belonged to Akhentepi. However, due to age, only the khopesh is intact. The other two weapons have the broken condition.
Zilchus still touches nothing, his left hand on the pommel of his falchion, bound by cord.
He moves a bit forward, still looking for things of interest, making mental notes for later.
Perception (the nook)
"Might be that we just explore now, then work in concert to remove things after speaking with Abdur. He might have some ideas after we explain what we have found."
Zilchus waits for others to do a preliminary search before suggesting that they go the other direction.